Causes of Depression

If you're depressed, it might not be easy to figure out why. In most cases, depression doesn't have a single cause. Instead, it results from a mix of things -- your genes, events in your past, your current circumstances, and other risk factors.
Here are a few of the things that can play a role in depression.

• Biology. We still don't know exactly what happens in the brain when people become depressed. But studies show that certain parts of the brain don't seem to be working normally. Depression might also be affected by changes in the levels of certain chemicals in the brain, called neurotransmitters.
• Genetics. Researchers know that if depression runs in your family, you have a higher chance of becoming depressed.
• Gender. Studies show that women are about twice as likely as men to become depressed. No one's sure why. The hormonal changes that women go through at different times of their lives may be a factor.
• Age. People who are elderly are at higher risk of depression. That can be compounded by other factors -- living alone and having a lack of social support. 
• Health conditions. Conditions such as cancer, heart disease, thyroid problems, chronic pain, and many others increase your risk of becoming depressed.
• Trauma and grief. Trauma, such as violence or physical or emotional abuse -- whether it's early in life or more recent -- can trigger depression. Grief after the death of a friend or loved one is in itself a normal emotion, but like all forms of loss can sometimes lead to depression.
• Changes and stressful events. It's not surprising that people might become depressed during stressful times -- such as during a divorce or while caring for a sick relative. Yet even positive changes -- like getting married or starting a new job -- can sometimes trigger depression.
• Medications and substances. Many prescription drugs can cause symptoms of depression. Alcohol or substance abuse is common in depressed people. It often makes their condition worse.

Some people have a clear sense of why they become depressed. Others don't. The most important thing to remember is that depression is not your fault. It's not a flaw in your character. It's a disease that can affect anyone -- and regardless of the cause, there are many good ways to treat it.

Achieve a younger real age.

Everybody knows smoking is damaging for their health. But I know there will be a few people, even people reading this blog, who have convinced themselves that if they just do everything else well, that smoking isn’t so bad for them.
They are wrong.
Smoking is the single most dangerous thing you can do to your health, unless you are playing Russian roulette, which, though faster, has less risk of killing you (half of smokers will die from a tobacco-related disease). Smoking does so many bad things to your health I could use every word in this post to list the diseases caused by or made worse by smoking. I don’t want to do that –  instead, I want to concentrate on why quitting smoking now – right now! –  makes you healthier.
First of all – you will live longer. Depending on how heavy a smoker you are and when you quit (the sooner, the better), you can increase life expectancy up to 8 or even 10 years. That doesn’t just mean you will live to 75 instead of dying at 65 (as an example), but it means that the premature aging you have done to your body can begin to reverse itself and you can start feeling younger now. This process takes time, but, gradually, smokers notice improvements in many systems, including sensation (taste, smell), cardiac and pulmonary (better stamina, easier breathing), and many others. You will be reducing health risks for people around you as well.
One thing we found out while researching the Real Age Test is that people who have good behaviors tend to have other good behaviors, and the converse is true, too. Smokers tend to exercise less, see their doctors less frequently, and have less healthy diets than nonsmokers. They also tend to drive more recklessly and have a higher rate of accidental death. However, when people quit smoking, these behaviors tend to change as well. Ex-smokers are even less likely to have car accidents than smokers.
Some studies have shown that changing one behavior can lead to others improving too. By starting with one small step, you can make it easier to take bigger steps later. I mean that literally: Walking a few extra steps each day can make it easier to successfully quit smoking. An exercise program, even one as informal as a half-hour walk daily, can make it easier to quit smoking and have a healthier diet, and reduces stress.
Of all the things you can do to improve your health, if you are a smoker, the most important by far, is to quit, and the sooner, the better. Your doctor has many resources to help.
Read my previous blogs to learn more about all that went into building the RealAge Test. Look out next week for my next blog, where I’ll continue to discuss the factors involved in the RealAge Test to help people feel younger and live longer. Take the test, if you haven’t already.
                                                                                                                          -Niraj Bartaula

Need Orgasm Help for Women. Here It is !!!!

About 10% of women have never had an orgasm -- either with a partner or during masturbation. And quite a few of them have found their way into my therapy practice. That's when I tell these women the good news: It is possible to learn to be orgasmic.
The first and most important lesson is to practice developing a balance of tension and relaxation during sexual activity. But, my women clients ask, how can they be both tense and relaxed at the same time? It's a good question, and here is my two-part answer:

How to Have an Orgasm Step 1: Tense Up

The type of tension that helps women reach orgasm is muscle tension (myotonia). Many women have the mistaken impression that they should relax and "just lie there" because they've heard that relaxation during sex is important. But it turns out that muscle tension is often necessary for an orgasm. In my experience, the majority of women learn to have their first orgasm by incorporating a fair amount of leg, abdominal, and buttock tension.
Not surprisingly, women report that the most orgasm-inducing muscle contractions are in their lower pelvis. These are the same muscles you squeeze to stop the flow of urine midstream (a conscious contraction of this group is called a Kegel exercise).
What is the connection between tensing muscle groups and having an orgasm? Arousal. Contracting (or tensing) certain muscles increases blood flow throughout the body and often to the genital area. And arousal, of course, is the road map that helps lead most women to orgasm.

How to Have an Orgasm Step 2: Wind Down

So, where's the relaxation part of this equation? In the brain. During sex, a woman should be focused simply on feeling the sensations of the stimulation.
Have a hard time relaxing? Think of a Times Square billboard in which words stream into view from the left-hand side to the right edge, and then disappear off the screen. During sex, many women find it helpful to program their own Times Square news crawl with a repetitive mantra such as "I can take as long as I want" or "This really feels great" on their mental silent radio. It keeps the brain occupied -- but with a thought that will encourage sexual arousal rather than with a nervous, negative thought that might decrease arousal.
After this first lesson, I send my clients away with a homework assignment. During sex, they are to tense up their muscles and let their minds go silent. This technique takes practice, but it can work over time. And more often than not, my clients return to a future session with their own good news to report.

Can't Orgasm? The Problem Could Be Medical

Therapy can help some women having difficulty with orgasm. For others, a medical condition or side effects from a medication may be causing the problem. Visit your doctor to rule out these causes. Options for treatment include the following:

• An FDA-approved device called Eros helps increase blood flow to the genitals.
• Over-the-counter creams may increase sensitivity and help a woman reach orgasm, although these are not FDA-approved. As always, talk to your doctor before starting any treatment.